Day 20 – The One Where I Introduce My Thanksgiving Butterball

Introducing: Cameron Boyd Craft!

Friday, November 23, 2007

It’s a boy! 21 lbs, 27 inches! At approximately 10:30 am Kaz time, (11:30pm Thanksgiving Night EST), the judge granted my adoption of Cameron (fka BabyKaz) and waived the 15 day appeal period. I get to bring him back to the apartment tomorrow morning! God is so good! And the timing is amazing. It brings a whole new meaning to Thanksgiving.

Court ended up being pretty easy. I had a new judge, which had Larissa and Olga (and me, frankly) a little worried. Of course, before court, Larissa said it was nothing to worry about. She only told me that they were worried as we were leaving the courthouse. Instead of having me deliver my speech, the judge and prosecutor just asked me questions. It still covered everything in my speech, but it was much easier just standing and answering questions.

OK, I’m not an overly emotional person, and I thought I would be so focused on what I was saying that I would not cry during court. I was wrong. The judge was about 30 minutes late and I was looking at the photo album I put together as evidence of the bonding period while we waited and I started to cry a little then. During court, the representative of the Dept of Education described how well Cameron has been doing since we started the bonding period and I started to cry then. So much for not being emotional!

I don’t know how it works in every region, but in Semey, the speech has 3 parts. In the first part, you just describe your life, family, job, health, house, experience with children, financial condition, and your reasons for adopting. If you’re divorced like I am, you have to explain. In the second part, you explain the process you went through. You name your agency and how you chose it, when your documents were registered at the Kaz Consulate, when you received your LOI, when you applied for your Visa, and when you arrived in Semey. You also describe meeting the orphanage director and when you started the bonding period. You also describe what happened during the bonding period; how the baby changed and got stronger. This is where you describe some of your emotions during that time. In the third part, you describe what you are asking the court. You ask the court to adopt this baby and give his/her date of birth and you explain how you want the names on the new birth certificate to read. That’s pretty much it.

Now, the way mine worked is the judge and prosecutor asked me questions that are covered in Part I. The orphanage director and Dept of Education representative basically covered Part II and Olga covered Part III. To be honest, I think I got off pretty easy. Sometimes you get hit with a lot of tough questions but I didn’t get any surprises. I didn’t even get asked most of the questions I practiced with Olga the night before. Easy, breezy! All I have to say is Whew!!

I spent the afternoon stocking up on formula, food, and diapers. And I went to Vital Records and signed the adoption certificates. The lady at Vital Records ceremoniously handed me Cameron’s new birth certificate and the adoption certificate. The next step is to get his passport and exit Visa. I should be in Semey another week to ten days. And then I go to Almaty for him to be checked out by the medical clinic and then I will go to the US Embassy for an appointment. This takes anywhere from a few days to a week depending on how quick I can get the appointments set up. Then I can go home!

Better get some sleep. As my Mom said, Now the fun really begins!